Nadal vs Novak Djokovic Miami Final

Sports Mania, Miami, April, 4-2011:Rafael Nadal believes there is a good chance Novak Djokovic will replace him as world number one this summer.
Serbian Djokovic stayed unbeaten in 2011 by beating top-ranked Spaniard Nadal in a thrilling Sony Ericsson Open final in Miami.
The Australian Open champion won 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7/4) to pick up his 24th straight win this year, backing up his Indian Wells final win over Nadal a fortnight ago.
"I think he's going to be number one," said Nadal.
"It's difficult for me to say my goal is be number one. My goal is to be competitive in every tournament. If I do that, I'm going to have my chance to be number one.Read More

Federer claims fifth World Tour Finals

Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3 3-6 6-1 to equal the record haul of five Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Federer is now on par with fellow greats Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras.

The final the tournament had hoped for did not rival some of the classic encounters between the two best players of this, or arguably any, era, but it was absorbing nonetheless.

Federer was the better player throughout but Nadal, who was looking to add the one major title that has so far eluded him to his year's collection of three grand slams, put up a brave fight despite clearly not being at his best physically.

Federer, who takes home a cheque for just over £1million

Federer sets up Nadal clash

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet for only the second time this year in the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

The Swiss demolished Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 at London's O2 Arena.

After the drama of Nadal's titanic victory over Andy Murray earlier, the second semi-final had plenty to live up to, and although it was not in the same league as a contest, it did showcase Federer in awesome form.

The 29-year-old, who has not met Nadal since the final of the Madrid Masters in May, said: "I'm really happy to play so well

Fed express races to semi-finals

Roger Federer booked his semi-final spot at the ATP World Tour Finals with a 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 win over Robin Soderling.

The result was also good news for British number one Andy Murray, who now knows he needs only to win a set against David Ferrer to make the last four on home soil at the end-of-season showpiece for the first time.
Federer said: "Playing against Robin's never easy, he's a big hitter, but I played really well against a player who's in great shape also so I'm really pleased."
Soderling knew that realistically he needed to win the match to stay in contention for a last-four spot and he came out with all guns blazing, troubling Federer early on.

Federer matches Sampras for titles

Roger Federer equalled Pete Sampras' mark of 64 career titles as he beat Florian Mayer in the final of the Stockholm Open.

Federer recovered from going down a break in the first set to triumph 6-4 6-3 and claim his third title of the year.

Becker boost for British tennis?

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) will turn to Wimbledon legend Boris Becker in a bid to revive British men's tennis.

The six-time Grand Slam champion has been reported by Sportsmail as having already held informal talks with the LTA about the possibility of taking a prominent role in developing new talent.
The report claims that Becker, who has been practising this week at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton with 17-year-old prospect George Morgan, is keen on the part-time role of men's head coach - vacated by American Paul Annacone.

Djokovic defends China Open crown

Novak Djokovic successfully defended his China Open crown after beating David Ferrer in straight sets.

The Serbian world number two claimed the 18th title of his career by seeing off the Spaniard 6-2 6-4 in the final which was carried over to Monday after rain washed out Sunday's play with Djokovic leading 3-1.
"[I'm] just happy to win another tournament and make my record here in Beijing even better," said Djokovic, who is now 9-0 at the event.
"It's definitely one of the most successful tournaments in my career."

Wozniacki takes over as World no.1

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki has taken the women's world number one ranking for the first time.

Wozniacki, who has claimed five WTA titles and was seeded number one for the US Open last month in an excellent season, came through her third-round assignment against Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-2 at the China Open in Beijing.
It was not all plain sailing for Wozniacki, though, as she faced 10 break points during the opening set, but she saved eight of them and converted all three of her own opportunities, before continuing her 100% break-point record by securing three more in the second set to seal the win.

No sweat for Nadal in Japan

World number one Rafael Nadal powered into the semi-finals of the Japan Open with a 6-4 6-1 win over Russia's Dmitry Tursunov.

Nadal let slip a 4-2 in the opening set before breaking again in the ninth game and then won six games in a row in the second to seal victory in just 72 minutes.
"I played a good match, but he also made more mistakes after losing the first set," Nadal told www.atpworldtour.com.
"It's good for the confidence to keep winning after taking an important title like the US Open. When I go on court and I see a full stadium like here today, it is very nice. It is good for everyone."

Garcia-Lopez wins Thailand Open

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez claimed the PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok with a three-set win over Jarkko Nieminen in the final.

The unseeded Spaniard, who defeated world number one Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, won 6-4 3-6 6-4 after converting his fourth match point.

Nadal eases through in Bangkok

World number one Rafael Nadal notched up his 60th win of the season as he secured a place in the

 quarter-finals of the Thailand Open.

Nadal defeated Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans. 6-1 6-4 in another clinical display in Bangkok.
Germany's Benjamin Becker, the world number 65, came through a tricky looking clash with second seed Fernando Verdasco unscathed after a 6-4 6-4 victory.

Sharapova stunned by Date in Tokyo

Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm upset 12th seed Maria Sharapova in three sets at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

Date Krumm, who will turn 40 on Tuesday, won 17 of 21 points from 2-3 0-40 down in the decider to overcome the 23-year-old former world number one from Russia 7-5 3-6 6-3.
The 39-year-old wild card's reward will be a second-round date with Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.
In other early first-round action, Date Krumm's compatriot Kurumi Nara did not fare so well, going down 4-6 6-2 6-1 to Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova.

Rain washes out Seoul action

 

No play was possible at the Korea Open in Seoul on Tuesday because of bad weather.

The majority of the first-round matches were due to be played, with top seeds Nadia Petrova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Maria Kirilenko all scheduled to be in action.

Seeds progress in Tashkent Open

The top three seeds all progressed to the second round at the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan.

Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru, seeded one, was a 6-2 7-5 winner over Kurumi Nara of Japan but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for home favourite Akgul Amanmuradova.
The second seed lost in the final last year and she began her campaign this year with a solid victory over Greek qualifier Eirini Georgatou.

India beat Brazil

 enter World Group
Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna powered India to the elite Davis Cup World Group by scripting a sensational 3-2 win over Brazil.
Making amends for their opening-day defeats, Somdev and Bopanna downed their higher-ranked rivals in a do-or-die situation and led India to its first ever win in a Davis Cup tie from a 0-2 deficit.
Sweden has the most 0-2 comeback wins in the Davis Cup history with five victories and only once a team has won a final from 0-2 scoreline when Australia defeated USA in 1939.
A dominant Somdev led 7-6 (3) 4-0 before world number 27 Thomaz Bellucci conceded the first revesre singles, failing to negotiate hot and humid conditions and thus allowing India to level the tie 2-2.

Sania and Edina wins doubles WTA title

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Sania Mirza won her ninth WTA doubles title when she triumphed at the Guangzhou International Women's Open.
Sania, along with her Romanian partner Edina Gallovits beat local favourites Xinyun Han and Wanting Liu 7-5 6-3 in the summit clash of the USD 220,000 hard court event.
It was Sania's first WTA title in 17 months as the last time she won was in April 2009 at Ponte Vedra Beach event with Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang

Djokovic digs deep to beat Berdych

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Novak Djokovic defied injury to keep Serbia's Davis Cup hopes alive in a thrilling battle with Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
The world number two looked down and out when he suffered a serious-looking knee problem midway through the second set, having lost the first.
But he battled through and went from strength to strength to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 as Berdych struggled to find anything left in the tank.
Djokovic dropped serve in game seven to lose the first set 6-4, and was under pressure at 15-30 in the fifth game of the second and with Berdych looking more comfortable all around.
But a stunning shot to scoop up what looked a certain forehand winner and deposit the ball back at Berdych's feet seemed to turn the match.

Rafael Nadal wins 1st US Open title

Rafael Nadal was quick to play down talk of him overtaking Roger Federer's record haul of 16 Grand Slams after winning his first US Open title.

The Spaniard, 24, beat Novak Djokovic 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 in New York to earn his ninth Grand Slam crown and complete his set of winning all four major titles.

Asked about Federer's tally of 16 Slams, he said: "It's very far. For me, it's too far to think about that.